News:

Welcome to the all new Showtime For Free. We just upgraded our site and are all new with the same old attitude. First Time since we started in 2009 we're using all new everything.

So please, enjoy your stay and post while you are at it. Guest have UNLIMITED page views per day, just as any other member has, as of 4-21-13...But to win any prizes, you need to be a member... so please sign up. It's free... harmless, and enters you in chances to win free PS3/360, PS4/XB1 games and PSN points and Live Gold cards...

Personally... I think the entire American sports structure is broken even though I like some of the things it has like best of 4 stuff. I just think European (and most other regions) soccer (and all other sports in those regions follow the same method) does it right. Divisions... I don't mean AL or North East... I mean like top/premier/1st/major league as the main one and then tier out the other divisions/leagues. Teams that do shitty, as in last 3 place teams, get relegated to 2nd division and teams that do well in lower divisions get promoted to higher division. None of this bullshit that a shitty team gets the best draft pick for the following season. Teams will have their 'A' team, as in their main roster, and a 'B' team which is where the reserves would go. B teams play other B teams so the players experience the sport outright, kinda like the minors. If teams own a young player's contract and has someone already to fill in their shoes but doesn't want the rookie to rot on the bench or go to the reserves, loan him out to another team/league that can benefit in the player's growth. MLS got flack for loaning out players like Beckham to the Serie A and Landon Donovan to the EPL, because Americans don't understand the concept (both players wanted to continue playing in top form to make their club's World Cup rosters). But college sports are there along with the draft pick and this I think would be the biggest hurdle to ever go the euro sporting structure route.

It's too big a change though. So I know it'll never happen. I mean every day I speak with my friend/cousin about baseball I learn something new (latest was absolutely fucking stupid in my book). Last one was AL vs NL and why 1 division has a DH when the other doesn't... and how a captain can be a player that doesn't even play every game, and 1 example was one of the DH guys in rotation who plays once every week is the captain NFL in my book is a great sport but the same team no longer plays the whole game and each team doesn't play everyone, but sometimes plays 1 team twice in a season When you think about it, it don't make sense. Then again I never got why the World Series was called the WORLD Series when today only 1 team is outside the US and no MLB team plays anyone in the world for any tourney either; and why the American football was called FOOTball when only 1 player is allowed to kick the ball, and isn't on the field the entire game...

But progression in sport adds or changes things that they feel is needed, and removes things that they feel isn't needed.

The World Cup is on now and this week, Friday to be exact, ends the group stage. Saturday starts the knock out stage where each game 1 winner will prevail and advance to the next round. It continues until the final. Remember though that the World Cup really started 2 years ago with over 200 national teams competing to make it to where we are today, where each region had it's own qualifying rounds, groups were drawn randomly and each national team in it's group plays each other in the group twice (once home, once away). Only the top teams advance with some needing to go through a playoff (i.e. 2nd place in group for some regions, because of so many teams, play 1 game home and 1 game away to advance). The final after all these 2 years in the making is where we are today, 32 teams across 8 groups, 1 final group stage where we are now and only the top 2 teams of 4 in each group advance to the round of 16, then... do or die. For you to make it this far, especially to round of 16, is phenomenal achievement. For you to make round of 16 is even greater. And each stage you win to move forward = epic. Even if the very final game comes down to just 1 do or die game, both teams are noted to be the best with the final victor being that much better. US sports go through what, 3-4 playoff rounds even if it's 1 game only or a series.

wow... I'll get back to that novel later, though i kinda agree that different seeds are neat (you see that in NCAA) we technically have that in the rest of profesional sports as well. MLB has the minor leagues, and there are semi-pros/farm systems in every other sport I know of, American Football, Hockey. Just saying. Though I find it ridiculous that The Yanks are allowed to have practically twice the budget of any other team, I know it's baseball and I'm all for tradition in baseball, but a salary cap wouldn't be such a bad idea. It helps prevent the Free Agency ruin the game, which is the primary problem with american sports if you ask me.

ya those guys go at it real hard too. and they do play a lot of games. i still think that football is harder though.. with the amount of running.. falling, hitting, getting up.. pushing getting hit and tackled.. not just checked up against the boards. imagine hockey hitting open ice crushing hits non stop all game... then i'd bet hockey would have less games per season.

NFL can't play that many games though. those guys fuck themselves up in practice, and then big time in the games. players careers would be gone in a few years imo if football had more games.

I like football, so the more I see it the better A season has what.., 16 games? There's 32 teams in NFL. Double the games in a season. Make 2 leagues, within each league each team plays each other once home and once away. full of win. especially for me since Giants stadium (15min away from me btw) houses both the Giants and the Jets so there would be a game every weekend

besides, rugby has 30+ game seasons, their players don't have pads, and ALL of them play the whole game.